Strength & Conditioning with a few shenanigans along the way.
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Monday, October 24, 2011

What's Different About GRIT GYM

When I started GRIT GYM I knew it was going to be very different than anything in the local area. What I didn't expect was how different it'd be from other warehouse gyms across the country. I didn't understand that until visiting gyms across the country. I found other coaches were spending little time in their own gyms. Now, I totally agree w/ a certain amount of this. They want to be successful enough to set up their future (for example: retiring, simply going on vacation, and I cannot imagine having kids w/ the schedule I keep now....). This is much of the reason I'm hiring right now (if interested send cover letter and resume to adam@gritgym.com). But I did expect these coaches to be front and center when it came to the gym.

My gym operates w/o a micromanager (of which I am NOT), and it operates in a way I see fit for producing the results we're going for. This may or may not be the freakiest, or fastest changes but the best change, which would include longevity, maintenance, and adherence. I put more value in the process than the product. In the end I want a quality result that's going to stick, mentally and physically.

I also have plenty of competition in the area. I do not train a specific way to create a business/competitive advantage. I set up programs based on the individual, the rest takes care of itself. My thought process behind this......worry about yourself.

Basically, you walk into my gym, you're going to see me. I can make sure of that.

What else makes GRIT GYM different? This started out as a rant. Agree or disagree you can tell me what you think in the comments below.

There's only one thing I can say for sure, it's 100% true and it's going on at GRIT GYM daily.

What’s
different about GRIT GYM

1. We do quite a bit of barefoot training

2. We understand the importance of soft
tissue work and joint mobility, their affect on performance and injury
prevention, as well as detecting the source of the issues, symptoms and what
may or may not be preventing peak performance.

3. We don't really do olympic lifts.

The return on investment
is too low, esp considering the long learning curve, along w/ the negative
impact at the elbow in over head athletes like baseball/softball players.

4. Everything begins w/ the assessment.

Google maps can't give
you directions w/o starting point. I have no idea what your needs are or how to
help you get to your goals w/o assessing what we're working w/ first.

There are inefficiencies,
for instance: sub optimal recruitment of muscles, tightness inhibiting function
and structural imbalances. Each of these are extremely common in todays
sedentary society, even in youth athletes.

An athlete that moves
well usually moves fast. Athletes need to be able to change levels, move
laterally, know their positioning w/o having to be conscious of it, and they
have to be able to drive massive amounts of force into the ground w/ each step.
But they also need to be healthy and able to stay that way through an entire
season.

5. No programs are the same.

We're all human so there
will be staples to programs and similarities, but no two people are the same so
no two programs are either.

6. There's no coddling.

Chihuahuas don't pull dog
sleds (I have to give my pal Eric Cressey props for that saying). If you can't pay attention, work hard, be positive, and aren’t
willing to learn then you're probably not going to be a good fit.

7. Nutrition

We don't screw around w/
a one sized fits all Nutritional regimen. As many people saw, this year
the government came out w/ "The Plate", which was a step in the right
direction but still abysmal in terms of an actual nutritional foundation to
live by.

Nutrition is much more
than an eat this-not that, good-evil continuum. Nutrition is a topic in an of
itself however there are some truths:

-Everyone's body reacts
differently to food. Everyone.

-Everyone can benefit
from breakfast. No excuses

-Everyone can benefit
from more plant based foods. No excuses

-No one has the perfect
diet. No one. I sure don't have one to hand you, but we'll work on it and make
yours work for you.

7. There's much more than just teaching
strength, speed and athleticism.

Besides nutrition. It's
how to think, maturing, building a work ethic, insight into themselves to grow
into great young men and women, building relationship and growing in those as
well.

8. There is NO long distant jogging

Unless it is specific to
the sport (triathlons, marathons, Xcountry) there wont be any jogging or steady
state cardio. We're going to be burning holes in the ground, moving in
short, fast bursts of energy.

-Bones don't fully
develop until between 18-26yrs of age. Usually closer to 18 for females, and
usually closer to 26 for males. Repeated low level stress like jogging can
stunt the growth of these bones and cause injury. It's common enough that we
can say this wont be a matter of 'if' it'll happen, but 'when' it will
happen.

-We're not training to go
slow for a long time, we're training to go extremely fast for a very short
time. Training the other way around will just make you slower and weaker
(literally).

-If I told you to do 750
hops on your left leg, then 750 on your right for a cardio workout, you'd call
me an idiot. That's called jogging, there are approximately 1500 strides in a
mile.

9. It's definitely not your typical
workout arena. There are no mirrors, tv's, treadmills, machines, membership
fee, towel service or front desk girl. It's not set up for that. It's set up
for hard work, done intelligently to get results. There's no typical globo gym
personal trainer either. You’ll find a Performance Coach w/ a very different
skill set.

10. No one implements their
implements the way I do at GRIT GYM.

Yeah, there are
kettelbells, ropes, turf, weights, prowlers (sleds), med balls, trap bars,
etc....everyone else has those too. Doesn't matter, it's what we (you and I) do
w/ them based on the assessment that makes for progression to maximize
potential.

This is what it takes to be successful. Work
hard, work right, work smart.

2 comments:

Ive been training at phil johnsons strength and conditioningjust up the street from your gym for about 2 years and because of the fact that he utilizes the olympic movements to produce power and explosiveness i was able to grast these movements and become the national champion at olympic weightlifting at 14 years of age. He has also produced dozens of college athletes in sports ranging from football to tennis because of the fact that he teaches the olympic movements

This makes you an olympic lifter. Oly lifter use oly lifts. Bodybuilder body build and powerlifters power lift. As I tried to make clear here: http://adamrees.blogspot.com/2011/05/we-dont-do-olympic-lifts-part-1.html

The majority of athletes at my gym engage in an overhead sport such as: baseball, volleyball, tennis. These sports repeatedly beat up the elbow, specifically the UCL. Oly lifters rarely tear a UCL. H/e the stress at the elbow during the catch of an oly lift leaves an overhead athlete w/ an already beat up UCL susceptible to a career ending injury.

Besides that, the difference between the training affect of jumping w/ weight in your hands and doing oly lifts is pretty miniscule, and more studies are coming to this conclusion as well. So the next big difference is that a kid can learn to jump and land correctly (when he/she is strong enough and ready for it) in under 30s. Where as (even when an athlete is strong enough and ready for) oly lifts take forever to perfect, as I'm sure you can attest.

Thanks for commenting though. Congratulations on the championship. Keep up the good work.

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Who is Adam Rees

Adam Rees is Founder of GRIT GYM, a gym based on results, creating a culture and lifestyle of performance, strength, health and freedom to live life on your own terms. Adam attended Wartburg College, worked under nationally recognized Strength Coach Matt McGettigan and is generally a whore to information and improvement in all forms.
Feel free to email with what you deem necessary to adam@gritgym.com. www.GRITGYM.com